Re: Bunch of tosspots
Scientology is -and always was- about the money. Pastafarianism was created to protest mandatory teaching of 'Intelligent Design'.
Poking fun at believers is entirely valid; if you take a moment to consider what those believers would advocate doing to those not of their particular brand of faith if the positions were reversed. Passive-aggressive piss-taking while simultaneously having fun is not the worst way to be by any means. If you research a little, you will also notice that "one true faith" and "burn the heretic" stances are shot down pretty hard; both in canon and practice. It also sets out to be inclusive (ie, you can be an active participant in another religion with no problems).
Now the demanding rights bit is partly publicity; partly being silly for the sheer joy of it; but also by parodying the more established religions it may serve to ameliorate some of the damage they do.
Also worth noting is that Pastafarians consider Friday a Holy Day; which many of us in IT already know and practice.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
